Method of treating ores.



* No; 723,212. j V PATENTBD-MAR. 17, 1903.`

` P. A. KNAPPB. y

METHOD 0F TREATING GRES. APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 22, 1902.

i no MODEL.

NITED 4STATES 'PATENT 'PPICo PAUL A. KNAPPE, `OE GRANTVILLE, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR To AMERICAN AMALGAMATING COMPANY, OE BoSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPO- RATION OE GEORGIA. e

METHOD OF TREATING ORES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 723,212, dated March 17, 1903. Application iiled August 22, 1902l Serial No. 120,6 23. (No specimens.)

To 'au 'whom it may concern,.- Be it known that I, PAUL A. KNAPPE, a citizen ot' the United States, residing at Grantville, in the county of Coweta and State of Georgia, have invented an Improvement in Methods of Treating Ores, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like letters `on thedrawiug representinglike parts.

My invention consists of t an improved method of `treating ore whereby I am enabled to extract the values eflciently and economically. Certain grades of ores, especially such as contain large percentages of sultds, producegreat quantities of slimes and are `difficult to properly amalgamate on `this account, a `considerable amount of free precious metal being carried away by the slimes if a thorough amalgamation is attempted. By my process I am` enabledto remove the greater portion offree precious metal from these oresby amalgamation without the usual diculties and to separately recover the val- ,uesfrom the concentrates and slimes.

`My invention will be best understood from i an illustrationand description of one specific combinatinVadapted to carry it into effect, while its scope will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the; drawing I have shown inavertical `sectional view a combination of agitator and i amalgamator, concentrating-table, and slime- `tables sorelated as to be adapted to carry out my improved process. y

In the drawing, A represents generally the primary receptaclefor thecrushed or-pulver- `ized ore` and in which in the present in- Y stance I have combined the double function of agitator and amalgamator. The walls a,

bottom b, andremovable cover c of the receptacle are of any suitable material and the whole is supported upon a framework d. Within the receptacle A, I have shown means for gently agitatingthe pulp fed thereto, and for this purpose preferably employ the rotary upright agitator-arms e, carried by the radial supports f. Anymeans, however, for assisting the settling and the separation of the heavier particles from the lighter may be employed, and I am not limited to those disclosed, which are merely such .as I-prefer in practice. Supports fare fixedly attached to the hub-piece g, keyedv or ...otherwise suitablyr fastened to the vertical shaft hto rotate therewith. A slow rotation is imparted to the shaft h and the attached agitating-arms through the bevel-gears t' and the pulleysj.

At Za is provided a feed-inlet for the pulp. Aseries of slime-discharge outletsll is shown on the opposite side of the agitator below the level of the feed-inlet. To illustrate my process, I have here shown but two such Outlets, the upper one, Z, for the removal of lthe finer slimes, and the lower one, Z, for the medium s limes; but it is evident that this series may be indefinitely extended as conditions may require. Each slime outlet Ais connected through its respective discharge-pipe fm. fm', under the control of valves n n, with its separate slime-table L L', which may be of any of the well-knownforms of construction, but which I have shown diagrammatically only, inasmuch as the specic construction is immaterial to my process.

The bottom b of the agitator A is corrugated or grooved or otherwise suitably indented to aord pockets 0 for the retention of free mercury and the amalgam resulting from' the unioni thereof Iwith the precious metal in the pulp.

A heavy-materials outletp is provided in the walls of the agitator for the discharge of the concentrates and other heavy particles. This discharge is located slightly above the mercury-space-in the bottom to avoid drawing any of the mercury or amalgam therefrom and is connected through discharge-pipe q, controlled by the valve r, with the receiving-k compartment of the concentrating-table P.

tion and I have shown the same in avconventional manner only. Y i

. A valve-controlled outlet s at the bottom 9o The latter may be of any suitable construe,-V

of the agitator affords means for removing at the necessary intervals the accumulated mercury and amalgam, together with suc-h heavy particles as are unsusceptible to amalgamation.

My process, which is preferably continu- IOO ous, is carried out in the following manner: The ore is pulverized to the mesh necessary t0 liberate the mineral from the gangue by either the Wet or dry process. The ore-so crushed is continuously fed into the receptacle A, the necessary amount of water being added, either before or after it reaches the receptacle, to form a pulp of the proper consistency and permit a ready separation of the heavier particles from the lighter and the gravitation or settling of the same to thebottom of the receptacle. The circulation of the mass, which is maintained by the gentle movement of the upright fingers, accelerates and aids the natural gravit-ation of heavier particles and separates or classifies the pulp particles into layers according to their density. The lighter particles near the surface of the settlerl form the slimes, and these are withdrawn continuously through the dischargepipes placed at different levels and corresponding to their respective classes or layers, the finest slimes being discharged through the uppermost outlet, the coarest through the lowest slime-outlet, and the intermediate slimes through their respective intermediate outlets. trates,together with the particles of free metal, respond to the laws of gravity and settle to the bottom of the receptacle, where they come in contact with the free mercury contained therein, which latter forms an amalgam with such amalgamatable metals as are among them and is withdrawn as often as desired through the discharge-pipe s. 1 Additional mercury is fed into the receptacle to the extent vnecessary to replace the withdrawn amalgam. The discharge-pipe for the heavy mineral or pulp is located somewhat above the mercury-level and within the area of agitation, so that there isalways a bed of mineral or concentrates in the lower part of the agitator kept in motion by the agitator-arms. The circulation or movement of these heavier particles over and about the bottom of the settler removes the amalgamatable metal from the mass. The surplus concentrates and minerals are removed through the heavymaterials discharge p as rapidly as fresh additional particles are added to the mass through the settling process. The heavy materials or concentrates which are drawn from the lower part of the agitator are conveyed to the concentrating-table and concentrated in the usual way andare then again subjected to amalgamation by any of the methods in useplat'e, pan, barrel, or tube. The material which is taken to the concentrating-table contains in addition to the sulfids'some free gold which did not come in contact with the mercury in the agitating-receptacle and also some amalgam escaped from the pockets. This gold and amalgam are concentrated with the sultids and passing off the table are recovered when the mixture is again subjected to amalgamation. The dierent grades of slimes are delivered to the slime-tables or other suitable The heaviest particles and concendevices for concentrating or separating the fine mineral from the Worthless material, the slime-concentrates secured in this manner being treated by amalgamation, cyanid, or other process of recovery suitable to the particular kind of ore under treatment. The values in the slimes are largely represented by minute particles of lead, zinc, copper, iron, and sulds of their metals carrying gold, and by an economical concentration these slimes may be made valuable.

By the employment of my invention I am enabled to maintain a continuous process and avoid the delays and much expense heretofore incidental to the recovery of values from ores containing large percentages of sulids. I am also enabled to successfully and continuously treat sulfid ores crushed by the dry process, which has heretofore been dithcult, particularly in methods employing plate amalgamation, owing to the impossibility of maintaining a pulp of the proper consistency.

It is to be understood that my method may be carried out in a great variety of ways and is in no way limited to the specific apparatus disclosed, which is submitted for illustrative purposes only.

I claim- 1. The process of treating ores which consists in continuously feeding pulp to a settler and grading the same therein, continuously withdrawing each of the lighter strata before contact with mercury, causing mixing contact of the heaviest-pulp particles with mercury, discharging the non-amalgamable portion thereof, and separately recovering the values from the different grades withdrawn from the settler.

2. The process of treating ores which consists in continuously feeding pulp to a settler and gently agitating the same therein to cause separation of the lighter from the heavier particles and a grading of the same, causing mixing contact of the heaviest pulp particles with mercury, continuously withdrawing each of the superimposed lighter strata before contact with mercury and separately recovering the values therefrom.

3. '[he process of treating ores which consists in continuously feeding pulp to a settler and gently agitating the same therein to cause separation of the lighter from the heavier particles and a grading of the same, causing mixing contact of the heaviest pulp particles with mercury, withdrawing the non-amalgamable portion thereof and concentrating the same, continuously withdrawing each of the superim posed lighter strata before contact with mercury and separately recovering the val u es therefrom.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PAUL A; KNAPPE.

Witnesses:

THos. L. Woon, E. S. BROOKS.

ICO

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